How Data Brokers Can Fuel Violence Against Public Servants

A policy analysis by Justin Sherman finds that rising threats against U.S. public servants are exacerbated by gaps in state consumer privacy laws: while consumers can limit sales of privately sourced data, public servants generally cannot compel redaction of personal data from public records, and data brokers can resell such public-source information without a private right of action. Reviewing 19 state laws and related threat data, the report warns of a “data-to-violence pipeline” fueled by repackaged public records and recommends targeted legislation to protect public employees while balancing transparency and access to public records.